Pulling Light Weight Trailers in BIIIG Winds!

It was difficult to leave Maurrie's this a.m. Her home is beautiful and unique. I guess if I had to label it I would call it Wild West/Native American Eclectic. It could easily qualify the beautiful homes magazines and was actually in "Country Living".

We finally had to leave and at 9:15 a.m. we bid Maurrie, Mazie, the dogs, horses, chickens, ducks, geese farewell. The above photo was taken in front of Maurrie's home and the Sisters from left to right are Kaaren, Maurrie with her adorable Pug, Maizie and Kris.

Continuing on I-10 East to Tuscon proved to be a white knuckle driving experience. The wind was howling and not only were our trailers moving around every once in a while so were the big rigs that we were passing or were passing us. Lots of chatting on the walkie talkies to try to quell each others nerves.

Sister Karen and her husband, Roy (Ting), who live in Dragoon Arizona had made arrangements with Kris to meet us at "The Thing" close to their home way east of Tuscon. As we exited the freeway we were surprised to see a man and a woman photographing us. We had a fast lunch at Dairy Queen, which is hawking some ice cream concoction called "The Thing". Karen and Roy were great to talk with and Karen only wished she could have joined us. We would loved to have had her come along. I would have included Roy's photo of our coming up the off ramp but had trouble copying and pasting it here. If anyone wants to see these photos, email me and I will send.

We arrived in Las Cruces New Mexico and pulled into a recommended RV named Hacienda. It is very nice and arriving around 7 p.m. gave us some time to throw together dinner just from the food supplies we had in the trucks for stacking. Kaaren saved the day. She had a Costco Chinese Chicken Salad and it was delicious.

You may be wondering how come there are several paragraphs each night rather than my original thought of only a brief paragraph. Well, there is just too much to write about. This is a wonderful adventure.

A quick update, we understand the 4 other California Sisters that were going to make this trip with the 3 of us are now in motion and they should all be Blythe at the RV Park for the night. We were thinking that it might be possible for them to catch up with us depending on how long they want to drive each day. Will keep you posted on their progress.

Wind warnings in this area have been cancelled so while we will have an 8 to 10 hour tomorrow to Junction, TX we are hoping the winds will not give the thrill we had today.

What a time we are having getting there.......................

Visalia to Phoenix in 12 hours!!

The scent of orange and grapefruit blossoms is wafting through the evening air here at Maurrie's home in Phoenix. I can't wait to go to bed in The Double Bar O and drift into sleep smelling that sweet air!

The trip over the Tehachapies and the desert to Phoenix was beautiful thanks to all the rain they have had this past winter. The wildflowers are in full bloom and there is a lush carpet of green velvet over the desert. The mountains, and there are many different ranges, are snow capped and pristine.

The drive was uneventful with one minor exception. Kaarin went into a right lane to connect to 10 East but I went straight - to Mexico I guess. With the help of walkie talkies and cell phones we found each in short order and were once again head to Phoenix by way of Blythe.

By the way, I paid $3.19 a gallon for gas in Aldenta(?) and $2.77 a gallon at the Flying J Truck Stop (what is that I love truck stops?) just as we crossed over the Colorado River at Blythe into Arizona. All those taxes we pay in California...........

The photo today is of our three trailers leaving Kaarin's in Visalia this morning. Oh, by the way, it was 87 degrees upon arrival at 7 p.m. tonight in Phoenix. Positively balmy.....

Okay, so we did not leave on Sunday

There have been some last minute changes such as leaving on Monday instead of Sunday. And, originally there were going to be 6 of us caravaning together from California to New Orleans. Now there are 3 leaving now and 4 leaving in the middle of the week. We will all meet up in Carmine TX on Saturday 4/3. Are you still there? Are you confused? Yes, there are 7 going now.

I left at 9:30 this a.m. in drizzle and arrived 3 hours later in Lodi to meet up with Kris. Connie and Zola were in Lodi to meet us. They are Sisters I have been to Kearn River with the past three years but they are not going to the New Orleans Giddy Up.

The drive to Visalia was, thankfully, uneventful. The vineyards are greening beautifully and there were lots of wild flowers along the side of the road. Hope the deserts are in bloom as we continue to move south towards Tuscon.

We arrived in Visalia and are staying at Kaarin and Jim's tonight. We had a fabulous home cooked meal and had great conversation at the dinner table about Italy, Mortgages , etc.

Another change in the itinerary is that we are not going to Blythe but rather on to Phoenix where we will be having dinner and spending the night at Maurrie's. She is one of the founders of Sisters on the Fly.

It is a beautiful evening in Visalia and the review of the snow covered southern Sierras was wonderful. It was 78 degrees when we arrived at 4:30 and now there is a full moon and a balmy evening. Kaarin's lilacs are blooming just outside The Double Bar O. I think I will sleep very well tonight.

The photo is of both Kris and my trailers in Lodi.